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Savoring life in the Berkshires

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Pittsfield: Farmer’s Markets and More

Published on July 12, 2014 By Emily. Updated on July 12, 2014

One of the things I love best about summer is that weekends are mine.  Yes, I’m taking a class this summer and yes, I have a part time job, but I do not have to spend my Saturday’s writing lesson plans and that is an incredible feeling.  When I have a totally open summer Saturday, I like to make the most of it.  Often, that means going to tag sales and farmers markets. 

On days I’m serious about yard sales, I generally find myself in Pittsfield.  There were at least a dozen sales listed online for today and I visited quite a few.  Unfortunately there always comes a point, especially when I’m traveling alone, that I get tired of tag sales.  This tiredness is caused by my anxiety about driving down roads I’m unfamiliar with, frustration with dodging traffic on streets where people have parked on both sides and realizing about 30 seconds after I finally park that I don’t need any of the baby items being sold.  Exhaustion induced by tag sale shopping is also caused by heat, because our car’s air conditioning decided last week that it didn’t want to work anymore.

So this morning I abandoned the tag sales left on my list and headed to some other seasonal attractions in Pittsfield.  My first stop was the Downtown Pittsfield Farmer’s Market.  This market was just started last summer and there’s something about being in the middle of the city that makes it feel special.  Pro-tip (especially if your car’s AC is broken): Park in the Columbus Avenue parking garage. There is parking at the market, but I much prefer the garage.  There is free 3 hour public parking, you don’t have to parallel park and it’s shaded. 

downtown pittsfield farmers market

Today I found the downtown market to be a little heavy on pre-made goods and light on the fresh produce.  There was pizza by the slice, a food truck, a coffee roaster, a couple wineries, and some bakeries.  There were also several vendors with produce, herbs and meat.   As someone with a CSA share, it’s nice to have the option to purchase items that aren’t vegetables and check out all the locally made products.  Who can complain about wine or sausage tastings?  I left happy, but empty handed.

baked goods downtown pittsfield farmers market

From there, I headed to the Berkshire Athenaeum’s book sale.  I’d seen the signs for the sale before, but never had the chance to stop.  It was amazing.  The books were incredibly organized and the selection was great.  I walked out with 4 books for less than $3.  The book sale continues tomorrow and the next one is November 6-8th.  It’s already on my calendar.

pittsfield library book sale

Finally, I stopped by the other Pittsfield area Farmer’s market at the Berkshire Mall.  I didn’t need anything – we just picked up our CSA share yesterday – but I was immediately tempted by all the awesome looking produce.  The market was much more vegetable, fruit and plant focused than its downtown counterpart.  I was extra excited to see corn on the cob, blueberries and tomatoes.  I left the market with some green beans, 4 ears of corn and a few tomatoes.  I’m planning to return to the market next Saturday and get more beans for canning, which I missed out on last year.

berkshire mall farmers market

beans berkshire mall farmers market

I often skip checking out farmer’s markets because we get so much at our CSA.  But today I remembered that there’s other good things to be found that our farm doesn’t supply; I’m definitely glad I stopped by.

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Filed Under: events, food, places Tagged With: Berkshires, farmer's market, Massachusetts, Pittsfield

« OCNJ 2014: The Family Reunion
Using the Word “Plan” Loosely (CSA Menu Plan #5) »

Trackbacks

  1. Spring Firsts: Farmer’s Markets and Fiddleheads says:
    May 25, 2015 at 7:32 pm

    […] my weekend with a trip to the Downtown Pittsfield Farmers Market.  I wrote about the market last year, but I was especially excited to check it out in it’s new location – the market has moved […]

  2. Vote and Help the Pittsfield Farmer’s Market Win $20K! | Relishments says:
    March 31, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    […] first post about the Downtown Pittsfield Farmer’s Market was in its previous location, a parking lot on First Street.  Though I didn’t do much shopping […]

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Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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